One of the most important things on any car is without doubt the tyres. No matter what car you drive and no matter where you drive, all that keeps you connected to Terra Firma is four patches of rubber that measure in at roughly the size of the palm of your hand. Ok, some tyres are wider than others and so are some hands, but the point is that the traction between you and the road is rather tiny when compared to the size of your car. The odd thing is that tyres seem to be a grudge purchase for most people and so they often skimp on costs by either getting tyres in the wrong size or by buying terrible quality tyres. There are however options that offer up great quality at a price point that won't break the bank, and the latest additions to the range at General Tire are exactly that. I was lucky enough to make my way to the Cape with the Altimax crew to sample these new additions, the Grabber AT3 and the Grabber X3.

When you take a close look at tyres you'll find out that every groove is there for a reason; on street tyres a lot of it is for dispersing water, but for all terrain or more off-road focussed tyres the grooves actually work to expel sand or mud that can cake up on the tyre and negatively affect traction. With these two new tyres, one is made for all terrain purposes and one has more off-road focus, but is able to offer a decent drive on tarmac. The Grabber AT3 is, as the AT part of the name suggests, the all-terrain tyre. This tyre is destined for use on bakkies, SUVs or off-road oriented cars that will spend at least an equal amount of time on tar and on gravel, a 50-50 split. The Grabber X3 is meant to spend the majority of its life off-road, but is capable enough on tar to keep you cruising safely. For this tyre the usage split is 80-20. Of course I fully expect to see Sandton Jeeps running around with this off-road rubber even though the biggest obstacle they're likely to face is climbing over a centre island to do a U-turn when Maps sends them down the wrong road into traffic. With aggressive-looking tread being one of the deciding factors when people buy tyres these days, that's not a bad thing, the Grabber X3 looks properly mean.

To test the Grabber AT3 we were sent on a route with amazingly breathtaking views of the Cape while driving a fleet of the new 2.4-litre Fiat Fullback bakkies. It was my first time sampling of a Fullback and I must say I was quite impressed with it. It's powerful and smooth and has all the mod-cons you expect in a new bakkie, although the interior did feel like it was a few years old in look and feel, but that has nothing to do with the tyres. On tar, and a few gravels roads, the Fiat performed flawlessly, hoofing it on a few bends showed that there was good grip on the roads and as far as road noise is concerned it wasn't really noticeable. The same when it came to the sand roads. It must be said that it's hard to figure where the tyres are showing off or the bakkie's traction control settings. Still, the ride was good. At one of the waypoints we swapped over to Jeep Wrangler Unlimited models fitted with the Grabber X3 tyres. Again, even though they're meant to spend just 20% of their time on the tar, they gave good grip and feedback, even on some wet roads it took a bit of silly buggers to try get the Jeep to lose traction. That's a win.

After a few hours traversing the best driving roads the Cape has to offer, tar and gravel, trying to rescue a poor duiker that we witnessed breaking it's back while jumping through a fence it didn't see, and falling just a little bit in lust with a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, we arrived at our accommodation for the night at the Klipbokkop Mountain Reserve. Apart from being an amazing lodge, it's also the home to Mountain Brewing Co and is also the base for the General Tire Adventure Academy where you can learn the ins and outs of off-road driving - see attached .pdf at the end of this article for great off-road driving information. Dinner (an awesome one), drinks (made on the same mountain we were on) , chats (about all sorts) and bed was the order of the night.

Just after sunrise and a great breakfast we headed into the valley to do some more testing. The first part saw us heading out in the Fiats again on an amazing scenic off-road route made up of hard sand, beach sand and your average medium grade off-road trail. The Grabber AT3 tyres got us through all of it without any issues. In some parts the electronics of the bakkie intervened to regain traction, but the tyres are the main ones responsible for the grip. After having more fun than should be legal in a bakkie, we swapped over to the Wranglers to put the Grabber X3 tyres through their paces. The trail we were lead on this time was way more technical and a lot more demanding on the cars and tyres, but thanks to the skilled instructors we managed to do the course without falter. There were some instances when I thought we'd be in a little trouble, but the grip of the tyres and the amazing agility of the Jeep got us through. I did get to see what the tyres look like up close when they're crawling over obstacles and you can actually see how the different sections grab on to the various rock surfaces and how they expel the water and sand and mud, quite fascinating really.

The new additions to the General Tire Grabber range are what the market needs right now. They are great tyres that come at an affordable price, and they have also made them available in the most popular replacement sizes to manufacturer spec. The Grabber AT3 features three innovative technologies developed to enhance all-round performance and durability: TRACGEN, DURAGEN and COMFORT BALANCE. The standard Grabber AT3 tyre range is available in 13 sizes catering for 15 to 20-inch rim diameters. Later this year, the Grabber AT3 range will be bolstered with a further nine reinforced light truck (LT) offerings in 15 to 18-inch sizes, which are designed for heavy duty applications. Compared to its highly-rated predecessor, the new Grabber AT3’s on and off-road performance has improved in several key areas, including noise levels and irregular wear. Traction in snow, muddy conditions and on wet grass has been improved, along with cut-and-chip resistance. The Grabber X3 is an extreme terrain tyre ideally suited to three of the most challenging off-road driving conditions, comprising mud, dirt and rock – as the name suggests: X3. The Grabber X3 relies on an enhanced version of General Tire’s DURAGEN Technology, using a three-ply construction across the range. This guarantees exceptional durability and puncture resistance and the new Grabber X3 raises the bar in virtually every sphere of off-road performance, while on-road capability has been similarly improved. This mean-looking tyre is available in a total of five sizes for 15 to 17-inch rims.

Best of all, they supply the tyres in OEM fitment to the Suzuki Jimny that I will own one day. A huge shoutout to the Altimax crew, the Xtramile crew and the guys from Klipbokkop/MBco. This was an amazing, unforgettable experience. Oh, and one last note - I decided to try something different on this event, all images taken were with my Samsung Galaxy S8. I wanted to see if it was possible to get quality pics without lugging a full camera kit around. I'm happy with them, but I still think it's worth the extra hassle to have my Canon DSLR with me.

A few more images, because I can...

Mountain Brewing Co.

Just a quick mention of Mountain Brewing Co because the venue, and the team behind it and most importantly, the craft beer itself is brilliant. While staying over we had a few drinks at the Klipbokkop Brewhouse Pub as you do, and we got to sample the wares. They have a great craft beer menu, and I tried two of them while there; Loadshed and an MBco original called Fynbos. The latter was made with fynbos instead of hops, and the only way to describe it was like a liquid veld. Seriously, the way a veld smells after rain is what this beer sort of tastes like, and that's a good thing. Loadshed was great though, I could happily put a 6-pack away. The brewerie gave us a takeaway pack of beer containing all six flavours, and as soon as the first real Saturday of summer comes around, they're doing down like a cheap Chinese watch.

LOADSHED

This lager was born out of South Africa's energy crisis in December 2014. With the 8-week lagering process of storing and keeping chilled at 4-degrees Celcius, it seemed at the time loadshedding was against us. However we were fortunate enough to keep the generators going when needed. Loadshed Lager is a speciality lager, and is naturally primed with local badger-friendly fynbos honey. Loadshed Lager is not only about something that brings light when there is Loadshedding, it's about relaxing and lightening the load with a refreshingly tasty beer after a tough day.

LOADSHED LAGER - LIGHTEN THE LOAD

​CAPE KRAKEN BELGIAN AMBER ALE

Cape Kraken - Belgian Amber Ale is an award-winning craft beer, a Gold Medal winner in the 2015 SANBT (South African National Beer Trophy) Awards. Cape Kraken is a hybrid between a Belgian and Amber Ale, and is conditioned in traditional 'Alt Bier' style.

The Tale of Die Kaapse Kruiden Zeemonster

Little is known of this tale during the times of Dutch East India Company, when their ships were sailing the world filled with spices from the Far East. The Dutch have been perfecting beer for centuries, and were able to brew tasty beers with their handle on the spice trade. It is said that these Dutch sailors would fear leaving Table Bay when the full moon rose over the top of Table Mountain, saying that a sea monster would roughen up the seas with its uncontrollable need to feed on these herb and spice laden ships making their way to breweries in the Netherlands.

​BLACK OR WHITE HY SMAAK ORAAIT: VANILLA PORTER

Over the past few months, MBco constantly have their craft beer lovers giving them feedback with the continuous #ShareTheTaste campaign. This allows MBco to decide on upcoming label releases with the community, that have experienced the MBco Brewery and the tasty brews they're constantly experimenting with. They've really been impressed with the feedback on the Vanilla Porter, with it's sweet aroma of vanilla and its malted coffee taste. This the next label in the family:

Black or White, Hy Smaak Oraait Vanilla PorterWhy the name? Well for those who are not familiar to Western Cape slang, it is a local phrase that jokingly expresses that no matter what your skin colour is, we are the same. With contrasting colours of the beer's cream-coloured head, and the dark coffee colour of the Porter, we could not resist at the temptation of Taking on the slang phrase to name the beer. The beer itself is certainly a tasty brew, and we know you will enjoy it next to a warm winter fire or even after a tasty dessert.

COPPER DAWN LAGER

A traditional lager with a dry-hopped fruity zesty hops aroma. This Austrian lager was loved in many countries as the word spread, even in Mexico. We brought our own local South African touch to it. The View you see on the label is actually the real view you see from Klipbokkop and the Brewhouse pub, this became the inspiration for the label. It is a view we have lost ourselves in many times.Go ahead, taste summer!

MADALA’S GOLD

This connoisseur beer is a triple hop experience of Belgium specialty. Right from the nose the distinct smells of bubble gum, banana and candy floss merged with blending hops to deliver a complex subtle flavour.This Golden Strong/Blond is not for the faint hearted and is brewed for those lover who wants a bit extra. At 6.8% ABV and around 40 IBU it leaves a roller-coaster of flavour for a such a light colour beer. Madala is a well-known African name for those wise and respected leaders of the community.

SHARING THE TASTE: MBCO ORIGINALS

At Mountain Brewing Co we love to share the taste with you, and on a weekly basis you will find something new and something different. Our MBco Originals are our playground of flavours and ideas for future beers, by sharing with the public we are able to refine tastes and look at future labels with the public's input. We live by our Motto 'Always Share Great Tasting Beer', and by sharing the current tastes you are able learn about various types of brews from all around the world.